One Piece: The True Codex

The Marine stuffed the torn bandana into Hayreddin's hand and picked up the pistol Kuro had left behind. Then, with casual nonchalance, he walked out of the alley.

"Agin!" A rat-faced lieutenant with shifty eyes frowned as he hurried over. "Where have you been?"

"Just using the restroom, sir!" The Marine recruit Agin stood at attention, his expression perfectly composed as he lied.

Kuro ran aimlessly, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and the scene of the crime. Though still somewhat panicked, he had calmed down enough to think more clearly.

He knew he could never return to the Red-Beard Pirates. If Barbarossa discovered that he had killed Hayreddin, he would flay Kuro alive. Looking back, Kuro realized he had left too much evidence at the scene—not only had he abandoned his personal pistol, but there had also been a witness.

He couldn't trust Arcadio either. There was no guarantee that when Barbarossa learned the truth and demanded Kuro be handed over, Arcadio would protect him.

Kuro's only option was to flee the city. With Barbarossa's and Arcadio's resources, finding someone as insignificant as him within the city wouldn't be particularly difficult.

Perhaps he needed to leave the Navia Kingdom altogether, or even the East Blue.

As these grim thoughts raced through Kuro's mind, he failed to notice that someone had been following him. When he entered a deserted alleyway and turned a corner, a blunt object struck the back of his head with tremendous force, knocking him unconscious.

Tony, who had been waiting for this moment while monitoring the Transponder Snail, caught Kuro's limp body before it hit the ground. With a sinister chuckle, he signaled to Edmond and Aramis, who had just arrived. The three men quickly hoisted Kuro up and carried him away from the scene.

When Kuro regained consciousness, he found himself in an unfamiliar courtyard. The lingering stench in the air told him he was still somewhere near the slums of Kalmar City.

He lay face-down on the ground, the back of his head throbbing with pain. Rather than immediately getting up, he cautiously surveyed his surroundings. Two oil lamps illuminated the courtyard, but their dim, yellowish light barely pushed back the darkness that engulfed most of the space.

"Get up. Stop playing dead," said a vaguely familiar voice, causing Kuro to freeze.

Slowly raising his head, Kuro first saw a pair of crossed legs, then the familiar face above them.

"S-Stolt?" Kuro's expression was a mixture of surprise, confusion, and fear of the unknown.

The Stolt—or rather, William—before him was completely different from Kuro's previous impressions. Gone was the impulsiveness and defiance, replaced by a composure that Kuro found deeply unsettling.

"Welcome to our group, Kuro," William rose from his chair and gestured toward him with open hands.

At his signal, figures emerged from the shadows in the corners of the courtyard—Edmond, Aramis, Tony, Sherlock, and others, each with a different expression on their face.

Kuro glanced at the assembled group and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean," William smiled, revealing his teeth, "that we're on the same side now."

"You killed Hayreddin..."

William's words made Kuro's face drain of color. He hastily interrupted, "Don't talk nonsense!"

Tony laughed maliciously, and his amusement infected the others—Edmond, Aramis, and Sherlock all joined in with laughter of ambiguous meaning. Kuro grew increasingly uncomfortable. He couldn't understand how the seemingly reckless young man he had known as Stolt had suddenly become so enigmatic, or how he knew about Hayreddin's death.

"Why lie to me? We're in this together now. Besides, you should be thanking me for helping you kill Hayreddin and get your revenge," William said calmly.

Kuro's eyes widened. Though his psychological resilience was somewhat lacking due to his limited life experiences, his mind was quite agile. Connecting the string of clues, he had already begun to suspect what William now openly admitted—that Hayreddin's death at his hands had been orchestrated, and the mastermind was standing right in front of him.

Realizing that his mistaken killing of Hayreddin might force him to spend the rest of his life in hiding, a wave of fury surged through Kuro.

With a low growl, he sprang from the ground like a wounded animal and lunged at William, who appeared completely unprepared.

Smack!

As if he had foreseen the attack, William simply raised his right arm, forming his hand into a claw that perfectly intercepted Kuro's charge. It was as if Kuro had deliberately run straight into William's grasp, and now found himself with William's hand clamped around his throat.

The combined force of Kuro's momentum and William's strength made Kuro feel as though his windpipe was about to be crushed.

William held Kuro by the neck, his Robust talent and the arm strength developed through years of swordsmanship allowing him to effortlessly lift Kuro until his feet dangled above the ground.

The friendliness had vanished from William's face. With cold eyes fixed on the struggling Kuro, he said slowly, "You can't afford to provoke Barbarossa and Arcadio, and you certainly can't afford to provoke me!"

William threw Kuro to the ground. Clutching his throat and coughing repeatedly, Kuro's eyes darted around as he assessed the situation.

He had calmed down somewhat. Not only was the suddenly mysterious "Stolt" before him, but the courtyard also contained several of his accomplices. Fighting would only end badly for him.

"I thought helping you kill Hayreddin with your own hands would make you appreciate my goodwill," William crouched in front of Kuro, his face once again friendly.

"I didn't kill Hayreddin. You framed me!" Kuro protested.

"No," William wagged his finger. "You killed Hayreddin. He humiliated you in front of the entire crew, and if I'm not mistaken, you must have told Arcadio about Barbarossa's private embezzlement of the spoils. Then, shortly before the incident, you were seen leaving a nearby bar in plain sight."

"The motive, the timing—it all fits. You must have harbored a grudge against Hayreddin and worried that Barbarossa would punish you again for being an informant, possibly by letting Hayreddin do the job. So, under the influence of alcohol, you decided to kill Hayreddin and flee from the Red-Beard Pirates. Perhaps, to divert suspicion, you even deliberately planted false evidence at the scene," William analyzed with a straight face.

Kuro's face turned ashen. What terrified him most was that William hadn't mentioned two crucial details: the pistol he had left at the crime scene and the witness who had seen him.

Even without these elements, what William had outlined was damning enough. A pirate ship wasn't a courtroom, and Barbarossa was no impartial judge. The logical chain William had constructed would be sufficient for Barbarossa to name Kuro as the prime suspect. No further evidence would be needed for Barbarossa to sentence Kuro to death.

(Note: In Chapter 59 "Confrontation," Colonel Roy was "admiring" nude [censored] female portraits. Thanks to reader Tianwang for the reminder. This has been corrected.)

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